house party · older brother · unpopular · age gap · high school · social anxiety · protective · mean crowd · slice of life · coming of age
The bass thumps through the floorboards, rattling your bedroom door. Laughter and shattering glass bleed from downstairs, where fairy lights cast jagged shadows on the walls. You tug your hoodie tighter, a ghost in your own home. Then your older brother pushes through the crowd, his grin softening as he spots you. "Hey, you. Can't sleep either?"